Gwen Lagrue, the Mercedes driver development chief who discovered Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is leaving the team to join rivals Red Bull in a similar role.
The 50-year-old Frenchman will head Red Bull's junior driver programme, essentially taking over the position vacated by motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, who retired at the end of last season. No start date has been agreed yet as Mercedes and Red Bull continue negotiations for his release from an existing contract.
Lagrue has worked for Mercedes for a decade, building arguably the most effective young driver programme in Formula 1. George Russell was his first signing after joining the team in early 2017, with the Briton famously approaching team principal Toto Wolff with a PowerPoint presentation to make his case. Mercedes supported Russell through the junior categories, a Williams debut in 2019, and his promotion to the senior team in 2022.
The crown jewel of Lagrue's recruitment work remains Antonelli, signed when the Italian was just 11 years old racing go-karts. Fast-tracked through Mercedes' development pipeline, Antonelli replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025 and now leads the world championship by 45 points in only his second season, having won six of ten races this year.
Beyond Russell and Antonelli, Lagrue also played a key role in bringing Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon into the Mercedes programme during his decade with the team.
For Red Bull, the move represents a significant coup amid a period of high-profile departures. Chief technical officer Adrian Newey departed for Aston Martin, head of strategy Will Courtenay moved to McLaren, and head of racing Gianpiero Lambiase is set to follow Courtenay to McLaren by 2028. Team principal Laurent Mekies, a fellow Frenchman, will welcome Lagrue as Red Bull aims to rebuild its driver development pipeline.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff addressed the situation after Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix: "We're in discussions with Gwen about the future, but nothing's been agreed or decided yet. Gwen has built up a fantastic team, we're about seven, eight or nine people that are running the junior programme going forward. We want to do it together with Gwen."
Red Bull view Lagrue's recruitment as proof that they can attract top talent from across the paddock as they reconstruct the team under Mekies' leadership and push to return to the front of Formula 1.
Sources
- https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/articles/cvg7kdnv4p2o
- https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101513/1/red-bulls-new-helmut-marko-mercedes-driver-scout-switches-f1-rival
